Technology is our friend

I hope you're chuckling at the title for this week's blog. I'm about the un-technological person you could ever find, but I have a curiosity streak that's a mile wide. Hence, I'm willing to try new things. But the trial needs to be on my terms and in my time frame. As soon as you add the clock or a delivery date, panic starts setting in.

But you know what? It isn't any more scary than learning to tie your shoes. Every process has definable steps. Back in the early days of technology in my day job, everyone used WordPerfect. Then Word got bundled in all the government computers and we had to switch. We weren't given an option. So, all those formatting and organzing shortcuts had an equivalent, the trick was to remember them and start using them. My entire office groaned and complained, but I figured, hey, this was the new way it was going to be, so get with the program. It wasn't long before folks were coming to Me asking me how to do things. Me, who kept a cheat sheet right next to the computer.

But that actually turned out to be a good life lesson. When something is new, keep the directions handy. Better yet, find a mentor who's been through the process before. Once you wade into the technological waters, so to speak, it isn't as scarey as you've made it in your imaginings.

Which brings me around to technology and writing. I was one of "those" people who had to have the pure experience of hearing the pen/pencil scrape across the page as I wrote everything out longhand. Then I had to laboriously type all that stuff in the computer. It didn't take me long to figure out that was a waste of my time. I now compose on the computer. Saves time and best of all, I can type faster than I can write. Ideas which came and went before are now hitting the screen. A real time savings!

As for product upgrades, yeah, I learned the hard way to get them. Like the Borg on Star Trek -- RESISTANCE IS FUTILE. If something changes, you have to adapt, or you'll be a dinosaur.

So yeah, I've adapted. Just this year I took up the challenge to promote my e-book online. This takes a real strong constitution. By this I mean, you're sending your stuff out there to the universe and you have no idea who is listening. But they must be listening because otherwise how would folks know to buy your book?

I've enjoyed seeing other people's book trailers - will I do one? Not this go around. Give me a few more months to totally adapt to my new status as a chatter and online presence. Then we'll see. The only thing worse than being a dinosaur is being a broke dinosaur....

Keep on Writing!!! See you next Monday! Maggie Toussaint